Variation in blood levels of hormones in obese patients following weight reduction induced by endoscopic and surgical bariatric therapies

Background Beneficial clinical effects of weight reduction following bariatric therapies is not fully understood and maybe related to the complex interactions between leptin, adiponectin, visfatin, omentin, and ghrelin. The aim of study was to investigate their timeline changes associated with weight reduction and their profile in relation to the type of treatment and its efficacy. Methods Circulating hormones levels were analyzed before and after endoscopic and surgical procedures in 67 obese patients and compared to non-obese healthy controls. Results Obese patients had higher leptin levels and lower levels of adiponectin, visfatin, omentin, and ghrelin than non-obese controls. During the consecutive follow-up visits after treatment, there was a gradual decrease in leptin levels and an increase in adiponectin levels to the levels observed in non-obese. At 50–54 weeks, the ghrelin levels were lower and the levels of adiponectin and visfatin, but not omentin, were higher compared to their baseline values. BMI correlated with ghrelin and leptin levels. The percentage of total weight loss correlated positively with adiponectin levels and negatively with leptin levels. Patients with adequate weight loss had a significantly lower leptin concentration than those with treatment failure. There were timeline variations in hormone levels between endoscopic and bariatric therapies, however there were no significant differences in the median their concentration at 50–54 weeks after therapy. Conclusion Our study supports observations that weight loss itself, rather than the procedure type, is responsible for hormonal variation. The leptin levels reflect the best the body weight changes after bariatric therapies.